Basketball goal ball ejector



G- KAERWER BASKETBALL GOAL BALL EJECTOR Filed Feb. 27, 1967 Oct; 7, 1969 GEOEGE United States Patent No. 618,917 Int. Cl. A63b 65/12 U.S. Cl. 2731.5 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DjISCLOSURE A basketball practice basket including a plurality of ball ejector levers pivotally supported intermediate their ends below the basket ring, said levers having basketball engageable upper ends normally biased to raised positions, a normally deenergized electrical circuit comprising an electromagnet having a reciprocable plunger and a normally open circuit control switch, said upper ends of said levers pivoting downwardly upon basketball impact causing the lower ends of said levers to pivot upwardly to close said switch and to thereby energize said icircuit to effect the movement of said plunger in one direction to strike the lower ends of said levers and to thereby forcibly raise the upper ends of said levers whereby said basketball is ejected through said ring.

Background of invention The present invention relates to a device for practicing the game of basketball or the like, and comprises a continuation-in-part of the invention shown and described in my co-pending patent application entitled Practice Device, Ser. No. 404,313, filed Oct. 16, 1964, and now abandoned.

A primary object of the present invention, as is in my co-pending patent application to which" reference has been made supra, is to provide a device to be positioned within or in juxtaposed relationship relative to a conventional basketball ring which will cause a basketball or the like tossed through the ring to be ejected out of the ring in a variety of directions.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a device which, when a basketball is thrown through the ring in which the device is installed, will eject the ball in a random manner with each ejection, thus permitting the player to retrieve the ball, pass the ball after rebounding, jumping or springing after the ball, and in short practice all of the necessary movements in accordance with rebound balls which fail to go through the basket on the first attempt.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a device for use with a basketball ring which returns the ball to the player for replay, the device being inexpensive to construct, one sturdy in construction and having long life characteristics, and one which is highly effective in action.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification when taken in connection with the annexed drawing.

In the drawing: 1

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a basketball ring with the device of the present invention installed therein;

FIGURE 2 is a view taken on the line 2-2 of FIG- URE 1 and on an enlarged scale;

FIGURE 3 is a view taken on the line 3-3 of FIG- URE 2 and on an enlarged scale; and

FIGURE 4 is a view taken on the line 44 of FIG- URE 3, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring in detail to the drawing in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views,

3,471,150 Patented Oct. 7, 1969 "ice in FIGURE 1 the numeral 10 designates a vertical wall from which projects a bracket 12 on the end of which is a basket 14 in the form of a ring for the reception therein of basketballs while in play.

The device of the present invention is designated generally by the reference numeral 16 and is shown most clearly in FIGURE 2. It consists of an upright substantially cylindrical housing 18 supported from the ring 14 by a number of strap members 20 each having a hook 22 on the upper end thereof. As is seen in the several figures of the drawing, these means support the housing 18 below the ring 14 and in substantially concentric vertically spaced relationship relative thereto.

As shown in FIGURE 1, a plurality of arcuate or concave-convex levers 24 are arranged in circumferentially spaced relationship relative to one another about the housing 18 with the concave sides thereof facing upwardly, and each, as is shown in FIGURE 2,- has a portion adjacent one end disposed within the housing 18 and a portion adjacent the other end located exteriorly of the housing 18, such portions being designated by the numerals 26 and 28, respectively. As is seen in FIGURE 1 of the drawing, the inner end portions 26 converge towards one another and the outer end portions 28 of the levers 24 diverge in directions away from one another.

A pin 30 extends transversely through each lever 24 adjacent the inner end thereof and serves to pivotally connect its associated lever 24 in an unbalanced condition on the casing 18. That is, the turning force exerted by the longer outer end portion 28 is greater than the turning force exercised by the shorter inner end portion 26 whereby each lever, in the absence of restraining means to be described below, tends to inherently pivot from its normal and first position as shown in full lines in FIG- URE 2 in which the inner end portion 26 slopes downwardly to its free end and the outer end portion 28 slopes upwardly to its free end to a second position in which the inner end portion 26 slopes upwardly and the outer end portion 28 projects outwardly in a substantially horizontal position as shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 2.

Motor means is provided for effecting this movement of the lever 24 back to the first position when it has been shifted by the weight of a basketball to its above described second position. More specifically, this motor means comprises a solenoid unit designated generally by the reference numeral 32, the unit being illustrated herein as including a coil 34 and a. reciprocable plunger 36.

The plunger 36 is centrally positioned relative to the free ends of the inner end portions 26, and a spring 38 seated in the lower end of the housing 18 bears against the lower end of the plunger 36 and constantly biases the same for movement to its uppermost position at which time the upper end thereof is positioned above the free ends of the inner end portions 26. A cam shoulder ring 40'is fixedly connected to the upper end of the plunger 36 and normally occupies the position adjacent to the upper end of the housing 18 and out of engagement with the inner end portions 26. The shoulder 40 is of such size, however, that when it is carried downwardly by the downward movement of the plunger 36 in response to actuation of the solenoid 32 upon energization of its coil 34, the shoulder 40 will strike the free ends of the inner end portions 26 and thereby cause the levers 24 to pivot about their respective pivot pins 30 and move from their dotted line positions of FIGURE 2 to their full line positions of that figure.

Switch means for each lever 24 is provided (only one being shown) for connecting the coil 34 to a source of current upon movement of its lever portion 28 from the full line position to the dotted line position in response to the weight of the basketball, indicated in dotted lines in FIGURE 2 as at 42.

3 This switch means is best shown in FIGURES 3 and 4 and consists of a microswitch 44 mounted on the inner wall of the housing 18 with a button 46 engaged by the mid-section of an arm 48 which shifts the button 46 to its closed position when the free end of the arm 48 is struck by an abutment 50 carried on the lever portion 26 intermediate the ends of such portion.

A fixed post 52 rises from the upper end of the housing 18 and serves to divert to one side or another of the housing 18 the basketball 42 when it is received within the ring 14, and this diversion causes the basketball to strike the lever portion 28 of one or more of the levers 24 when the levers 24 are in their upright normal first position described above. The basketball is ejected in one or another random direction according to which of the lever projecting outer portions 28 it has struck and has moved to its nearly horizontal position at which time the associated switch 44 is actuated and the coil 34 energized so as to project the plunger 36 downwardly with the cam shoulder ring 40 impacting or sharply striking and engaging the raised lever inner end portions 26 simultaneously of those levers 24 which have pivoted to their raised dotted line positions of FIGURE 2 and causing such levers to assume their normal full line first positions. As will be understood from an examination of the drawing, one or more of the levers 24 disposed under the basketball 42 thrust the ball upwardly and outwardly, as the struck levers move from their horizontal to their respective upright positions, with speed and in a direction which is not easily forseeable by the player who has dropped the ball through the ring 14.

The levers 24 herein illustrated are unbalanced, as has been noted above, and in their unbalanced condition, the levers 24 tend to pivot about their respective pivot pins from their full line positions of FIGURE 2 to the dotted line positions thereof. Thus, when the cam shoulder ring 40 is returned by the plunger 36 to its full line position as shown in FIGURE 2 under the influence the spring 38, the cam shoulder ring 40 is disengaged from the adjacent inner end portions 26 of the levers 24, and these levers, due to their unbalanced condition, would then tend to move from their upright full line positions shown in FIG- URE 2 to their dotted line positions shown therein causing the solenoid unit to again become energized through the closing of the switch 44. To prevent this unwanted operation of the device, a helicoidal spring 56 under tension and of conventional construction is provided for each lever 24, each spring 56 having one of its ends connected by conventional connector means 58 to the immediately adjacent one of the inner end 26 of its associated lever, and the other end of each spring is anchored interiorly to a floor 18' of a housing 18 as by any suitable and conventional means here indicated at 60.

The bias of the springs is such as to resist the tendency of their associated levers 24 to move from their upright full line position to their dotted line position of FIGURE 2, but the force exerted by the springs on their respective levers is not of such a degree as to prevent the levers 24 from pivoting easily about their respective pivot pins 30 when the outer end portions 28 thereof are struck by the basketball 42. It will be seen, therefore, that one or more players may use the device of the present invention, in turn throwing basketballs into the ring 14 and retrieving the same or instituting such modes and methods of play, including retrieving the ball, jump and return the ball, passing the ball to others, and in short enabling themselves of a practice device which normally should increase the players skill and agility in retrieving balls from the backboard and basket as if in actual play.

Having described and illustrated one embodiment of this invention in detail, it will be understood that the same is ofiered merely by way of example, and that this invention is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A basketball practice device comprising a normally upright housing and means supporting said housing below a conventional basketball ring in vertically spaced relation relative thereto;

a plurality of elongated levers and means connecting on said housing'each of said levers intermediate their respective ends for pivotal movement about a normally horizontal axis, said levers being peripherally spaced about said housing and having converging inner end portions disposed within said housing and diverging outer end ports disposed exteriorly of said housing, said levers all having a normal first pivoted position in which said outer end portions are upwardly extending and a second pivoted position wherein said outer end portions of all of said levers extend substantially horizontally, certain ones of said levers being movable from their said normal first positions to their respective second positions by the weight of a basketball passed through said ring and engaging .said outer end portions of said certain ones of said levers, and means operably connected with all. of said levers and responsive to said movement of said certain ones thereof to return said certain ones of said levers from their respective second positions to their respective said normal first positions, vsaid certain ones of said levers forceably ejecting said basketball randomly through said ring upon returning to their said normal first Positions from their said second positions.

2. A basketball practice device as defined in claim 1,

and means constantly biasing said levers for pivotal movement towards their said normal first positions.

3. A basketball practice device as defined in claim 1 wherein said inner end portion of each of said levers projects laterally from their respective one thereof and includes a free end, the free ends of said certain ones of said levers sloping upwardly from their associated lever when said certain ones of said levers have moved to their'said second positions;

and said operable means including means to deliver a sharp impact, when actuated, to said upwardly sloping free ends of said certain ones of said levers.

4. A basketball practice device as defined in claim 1 wherein said inner end portion of each of said levers projects laterally from its associated one thereof and includes a free end, the free ends of said certain ones of said levers sloping upwardly from their associated lever when said certain ones of said levers have moved to their said second positions;

and said operable means including reciprocable means actuated by said certain ones of said levers when moved to their said second positions, said recipdocable means delivering an impacting blow to said free ends of said certain ones of said levers to thereby return said levers to their said normal first positions from their said second positions.

5. A basketball practice device as defined in claim 1 wherein said operable means includes a reciprocable plunger and motor means for actuating said plunger, said plunger being centrally located relative to said free ends of said inner end portions of said levers and having means thereon to deliver a sharp impact thereto when said levers have moved to their respective said second positions.

6. A basketball practice device as defined in claim 5 and means connected on and extending between each said free end of said levers and said housing to constantly bias said levers for movement towards their respective normal first positions. V I

7. A basketballpractice device as defined in claim 1 wherein I said operable means includes an electrically energizable circuit including a solenoid unit having its coil connected therein, a reciprocable plunger for said unit, and a plurality of control switches for said circuit, said control switches corresponding in number to the number of said levers,

said solenoid unit being supported in concentric vertically spaced relation relative to said ring and said plunger being vertically reciprocable in said coil,

said solenoid unit further including means constantly biasing said plunger for movement to its uppermost position away from said coil, and said plunger having a cam shoulder ring fixedly secured to the upper end thereof, said plunger being centrally disposed relative to said free ends of said levers with said free ends of said levers being located in the path of downward movement of said cam shoulder ring when said levers are pivoted to their said respective second positions,

and said switches being normally open and mounted on said housing each adjacent one of said levers, respectively, and including means cooperating with means on said free ends of their respective said levers operable to close said switches when said levers have moved to their second positions causing said 25 circuit to be energized to efiect downward movement of said plunger and the striking engagement of said cam surface shoulder with said free ends of said levers whereby said levers are returned to their respective said normal first positions.

8. A basketball practice device as defined in claim 7,

and means extending between and connected to said free ends of said levers and said housing constantly biasing said levers for pivotal movement towards their said normal first positions,

and means mounted on said housing to deflect a basketball passed through said ring into engagement with said levers to effect their respective movement from their normal first positions to their said second positions.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS l/ 1952 Smith. 10/1957 Scalf 273-l.5 10/1963 Kimbrell 273--1.5

U.S. Cl. X.R. 273l79 

